November2, 2018

WASHINGTON—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement:

“Whatever its flaws, withdrawing from the Iran deal was a mistake. Today’s announcement—that the Administration is immediately waiving the re-imposed sanctions—shows why. Countries are free to conduct sanctionable activity that lines Iran’s coffers, which could allow the regime to continue its support for terrorism and other destabilizing behavior across the region. We do need to be tough on Iran, but we’ve given up the assurances that Iran will abide by the limits and strict monitoring of the nuclear agreement. At the same time, adversaries around the world may rightly wonder whether American sanctions should be taken seriously, or if they're just tough talk. Today’s announcement weakens our position on Iran and reduces the effectiveness of American sanctions all over the world.”